Ben's story began at the municipal shelter in Pilot Point, TX. The paperwork is light on details, so we don't how he came to find himself in the shelter, but he was there for a few weeks when the facility flooded as a result of record rainfall in the area. A cry for help was made and several local shelters stepped up to transfer all the animals to safety, and that's how Ben landed at Carrollton Animal Services and Adoption Center. 

Carrollton is over 3 times the size of Coppell, the shelter can hit 100% capacity very quickly, and that's exactly what happened a few days after Ben arrived there. Enter Coppell Animal Services for the assist! Local shelters help one another for the benefit of all; maybe it's to give a lingering animal a fresh audience, or to relieve an overflow of kittens, the networking done with other shelters and rescue groups is a little known, and under appreciated, effort put forth everyday by staff members. 

Ben (then Munch, but when we fostered him, we thought he needed a new name to go along with his new lease on life and we loved all the nickname possibilities; Big Ben, Gentle Ben, etc.), spent almost 5 months at shelter, was a staff favorite, and got plenty of interest from adopters - until they learned he had heartworm.  

To see a dog with heartworm is truly tragic as it's 100% preventable. The treatment is easy (preventative is even EASIER!), but it does run a few hundred dollars and that was enough to run some interested adopters off. It's a myth that having heartworm will shorten a dog's life (yes, if left untreated), our dog Ginger was HW+ when we adopted her and she lived to be 16 years old. 

Enter yet ANOTHER local organization, Road Trip 4 Paws, for an assist! I had met Ben a couple of times while volunteering at the shelter and thought he had great potential to be a successful adoption. We were hurting after the loss of Ginger in late September 2024 so we decided to give Ben a helping hand and Road Trip 4 Paws agreed to sponsor his heartworm treatment. 

Fast forward a few months and with his treatment behind him, Ben was looking, and feeling good. Like REALLY good! He turned into a playful, bouncing 90lb boy! I was writing the bio for his adoption posting when I realized I was describing the beloved dog of a former training client of mine. I reached out and turns out, she had had her eye on "Munch" for a few weeks but the timing wasn't right to adopt due to some personal commitments and travel on the calendar. She was thrilled to hear that I had fostered him and that he now had a clean bill of health and was available for adoption; we set up a meet and greet. 

I'm not going to lie, it was love at first sight (Ben is that kind of dog, everyone who meets him, immediately falls in love with him) and he went to his furever home a week later. 

This kind of teamwork and networking goes on every single day in the shelter and rescue community. The dedicated staff members and volunteers that make up the village it takes to rescue an animal too often don't get the credit that they deserve because one negative outcome will get 20x the exposure of 50 good ones. Well, here's a GREAT outcome for you; Ben was sheltered in Coppell, fostered in Coppell and now is living his best life in his furever home in Coppell!